AIR TRAVEL AGONY — If you’ve been sitting on the floor of an airport for 18 hours, Congress isn’t coming to save you. Not with haste, anyways. Summer air travel is shaping up to be a nightmare heading into the July 4 weekend and the frequent fliers on Capitol Hill are taking notice, even if they landed safely at their destination weeks ago. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. travelers were stuck or stranded this week. Blame game: Airlines blamed the weather and the critical shortage of air traffic controllers. They’re also heaping blame on the Federal Aviation Administration. The air traffic control union is blaming airlines, specifically United, whose flights accounted for about 84 percent of those canceled across the country this week. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said this week that he’ll use his seat on the Commerce Committee to push for more air traffic controllers to be working. “Staffing at FAA’s air traffic facilities in NY is at 54 percent,” Cruz tweeted. “Yet DOT is blaming weather for delays. Nonsense.” On the runway: Lawmakers are seeking to solve some of these problems (not the weather, but staffing and training) in bills to reauthorize the FAA for the next five years, with both House and Senate proposals adding air traffic controllers. The Senate bill calls for the establishment of a second air traffic controller academy, while the House bill would direct the FAA to train as many new controllers as possible. This week’s mess follows a Transportation Department’s inspector general report last week that found that the FAA had taken only limited steps to address shortages and repeated warnings by the air traffic controllers’ union that too few employees were available. Stuck on the tarmac: Federal aviation program authorizations are set to expire Sept. 30, but there are major disagreements that could derail action before the August recess. The House Transportation Committee approved its five-year, $103 billion FAA bill, after narrowly adopting an amendment that would raise the commercial pilot retirement age from 65 to 67. After recess it will be jockeying for floor time against spending bills, the GOP tax bill and other leadership priorities. But in the Senate, action skidded off the runway during a June 15 markup over an amendment from Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) that would allow airlines to count additional types of training toward the 1,500-hour requirement, with FAA approval. The meeting was halted and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee has not signaled when the panel will reconvene. Summertime sadness: Staff are still expressing confidence that Congress can get the FAA bill through before the Sept. 30 deadline, but travelers shouldn’t look for any immediate relief from Capitol Hill this summer. Thoughts and prayers for your August getaway. TGIF! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, June 30, where we hope you have a fun and safe holiday weekend! Don’t play with fireworks. Programming note: We’ll be off Monday and Tuesday for the Fourth of July but will be back in your inboxes on Wednesday July 5.
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